Seattle City Light Deploys Grid Planning Software to Manage Rising Energy Demand

Seattle City Light is adopting new grid planning software from Eaton to help manage record electricity demand and guide long-term infrastructure investments. The announcement comes as the utility faces continued growth in load driven by electrification, electric vehicle adoption, and population increases across the region.

Since 2022, Seattle City Light has experienced some of its highest peak and average loads in three decades, including record winter demand in December 2022 and January 2024. To address the challenges of rapid demand growth, the utility is deploying Eaton’s CYME Advanced Project Manager (APM) software module to support grid modernization and planning efforts.

The software enables engineers and planners to model and compare network scenarios, evaluate investment options, and track how different planning decisions could affect system performance and costs. It also provides tools for collaboration, allowing large infrastructure projects to be divided into smaller, manageable components that can be analyzed over time.

Seattle City Light’s long-term strategy includes expanding renewable integration, investing in energy storage, and exploring emerging generation options such as geothermal and hydrogen. The new planning tools are expected to support these initiatives by allowing side-by-side comparison of technical and financial outcomes.

Eaton representatives said the software’s modeling and scenario analysis features are designed to help utilities like Seattle City Light make data-driven decisions about grid upgrades and resource planning as energy systems become more complex and distributed.

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